Making So Much Out Of So Little

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.
Mark 12:41

The Bible has much to say about money matters because, in God’s eyes, money matters!

In Mark 12, many rich people were giving huge sums out of their bloated bank accounts. But their “much” seemed as nothing to Jesus when compared with the “all” that the poor widow gave out of her poverty.

Adam Clarke explains how a widow’s two small copper coins could add up to more than a rich man’s millions.

WALK WITH ADAM CLARKE
“Christ observes all people and all things. All our actions are before his eyes. What we do in public and what we do in private are equally known to him.

“His eye was upon the abundance of the rich who had given much; and he was well acquainted with the poverty and desolate state of the widow who had given her all, though that was only a little in itself.

“Christ sees all the motives which lead people to perform their good deeds. He knows whether they act through vanity, self-love, ambition, hypocrisy … or through love, charity, zeal for his glory, and a hearty desire to please him.

“He observes the motivations which accompany our actions—whether we act with care or negligence, with a ready mind or with reluctance.”

WALK CLOSER TO GOD
There are many who are willing to give God credit, but few are willing to give him cash!

Many are willing to give him some or even much, but few are willing to give him all.

Many are willing to give a tithe or offering, but few are willing to admit that the balance also belongs to God.

If God rewarded your giving on the basis of motive, not amount, would he make little ado about much or much ado about little?

How you give, not how much—that’s where a servant’s heart is revealed.